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5 Reasons Your Dog is Probably Staring at You – Right Now

When your dog wags their tail, you know they’re probably
happy or excited and when they spin in a circle by the door, you know they
definitely want to go outside. But there’s one age old question we’re all still
asking – “why does my dog always stare at me?”

To cut to the point, there are more possible answers than
there are dogs on the planet. Depending on the dog and the situation, the same
dog might be staring at you for several different reasons! Through this article
we give you 5 main reasons your pooch is probably staring at you.

Love

Just as you might gaze adoringly into the eyes of someone
you love, dogs tend to look into our eyes to indicate they like us. Our
fur-friends will usually have a soft expression, maybe with slightly squinted
eyes. A study into the role of oxytocin production – the “love hormone” – in staring
between humans and their dogs found that when dogs and humans spent time
staring into each other’s eyes, there was an increased amount of oxytocin
released by both humans and pooch. This seems to indicate the interaction of
staring increases the feelings of joyful affection between dog and owner.

Confusion

Do you ever talk to yourself while engaging in a task and
find that your pup is watching you closely, trying to follow every word?
Another reason that dogs stare at us is because they are trying to figure out
what we want from them. They don’t want to miss a possible cue or get yelled at
for doing something wrong. Plus, sometimes they’re just curious about what we're doing and why we're frantically walking through the house talking to ourselves.

Desire

Desire can cover a number of reasons why your pup is staring
at you, as it’s based entirely on your specific dogs “wants.” These desires can
range from “feed me” to “toss the ball” or even to “I need to go for a walk.” Staring
while engaging in a specific action, such as rolling onto their back is your
dogs way of saying “yes I would like a belly rub now, thanks.”

Context always matters and, in some cases, can help you determine
why your dogs is staring. If you’re seated down for dinner and notice your dog positioned
near your feet staring, the answer is pretty clear, they want your food. Or you
notice your dog, leash in mouth, eyeing you down from across the room – it’s
safe to say they are well and truly ready for a walk.

Guilt / Shame

Another reason why dogs stare is one that is probably quite familiar
to all dog owners. You walk into a room and catch your dog hunched over,
staring at you wide eyed with a torn-up pillow scattered behind them. There are
as many variations of this type of ‘activity’ as there are dogs. Whether
they’re uprooting your flower bed or digging through the trash – you’ve just received
a stare of unmistakable guilt or shame. When caught mid-mistake or in the aftermath, dogs tend to stare at their owns shame-filled, in hopes that they can get out of being disciplined.

Direction

The final reason we’ve narrowed your pups staring to is that
they want you to tell them what to do. In some ways, this relates to confusion,
but it’s not as straightforward as them attempt to figure out what’s going on. When your pooch stares for direction, it’s often because they are in the middle of training
or other kinds of activities and want to know what to do next. Dogs look to their owners for guidance so you will often find your pup staring at your for their next move.

The next time you notice your dog staring you down from
across the room, pay attention to the context and you might notice that they’re
trying to communicate something specific.